The Best of Wedding Photography.pdf - Free

form the pattern. They are used to produce pleasing forms
that guide the eye through the composition. The more
you learn to recognize these elements, the more they will
become an integral part of your compositions.
These are the keys to making a dynamic group portrait.
The goal is to move the viewer’s eye playfully and rhythmically
through the photograph. The opposite of a dynamic
image is a static one, where no motion or direction
is found, and the viewer simply “recognizes” rather than
enjoys all of the elements in the photograph.
Enter the Armchair. An armchair is the perfect posing
device for photographing from three to eight people. The
chair is best positioned at about 30 to 45 degrees to the
camera. Regardless of who will occupy the seat, they
should be seated laterally across the edge of the seat cushion
so that all of their weight does not rest on the chair
56 THE BEST OF WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
This is a very uncharacteristic group shot of the
bride and her bridesmaids taken by DeEtte
Sallee. Every one of the girls is animated and
looks her best.
back. This promotes good posture and
narrows the lines of the waist and hips
for both men and women.
With a couple, seat one person
(usually the man) and position the
other person close to or on the arm of
the chair, leaning on the far armrest.
This puts their faces in close proximity
but at different heights. A variation of
this is to have the woman seated and
the man standing. If their heads are far
apart, you should pull back and make
the portrait full-length.
Couples. The simplest of groups is
two people. Whether it’s a bride and
groom, mom and dad, or the best man
and maid of honor, the basic building
blocks call for one person slightly
higher than the other (note how this
objective is achieved using an armchair
in the section above). A good starting
point is to position the mouth of the
lower person even with the forehead
of the higher person. Many photographers
recommend this “mouth to
eyes” strategy as the ideal starting point.
Although they can be posed in parallel position, a more
interesting dynamic with two people can be achieved by
having them pose at 45-degree angles to each other, so
their shoulders face in toward one another. With this pose
you can create a number of variations by moving them
closer or farther apart.
Another intimate pose for two is to have two profiles
facing each other. One should still be higher than the
other, as this allows you to create an implied diagonal between
their eyes, which also gives the portrait direction.
Since this type of image is fairly close up, make sure
that the frontal planes of the subjects’ faces are roughly
parallel so that you can hold focus on both faces.
Adding a Third Person. A group portrait of three is
still small and intimate. It lends itself well to a triangle-